


Like the normal couples do

by BrilliantlyHorrid



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Coulson POV, Cute humans and their super Inhuman girlfriends, Double Date, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Mack POV, Mostly Skoulson though, Skoulsonfest, Some Mack/Elena, awkward dinners, being normal, established relationships - Freeform, my favorite couples
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 08:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7566847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrilliantlyHorrid/pseuds/BrilliantlyHorrid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Plus, it’ll be fun to be normal once in awhile, right?” She said, tossing him a light denim button down. “Less crazy?”<br/>“I thought you liked crazy,” he asked, unbuttoning his ‘too fancy’ shirt and putting it on a hanger. That was part of the fun, wasn’t it?<br/>“Crazy is good,” she conceded. “But call me old-fashioned, I would like a night of my biggest concern being what we’re all going to talk about, not me or my boyfriend’s alien blood, or my earthquake powers, or the world being completely divided on my existence.” </p><p>SkoulsonFest2k16 Redux--Day 6: Double Date</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like the normal couples do

“You know this is weird, right?” Phil asked, and he could see Daisy roll her eyes from across the room. Looking in the mirror as she messed around with her hair, Daisy sighed.

“It’s not weird,” she said, then narrowed her eyes. She placed her hands on the bureau, and Phil saw her reflection raise an eyebrow at him. “A tie? Really?” Coulson looked down at the still un-tied tie dangling around his neck.

“You like my ties,” he said defensively. Evasively. Daisy crossed the room, gently pulling the tie away from his collar. As she folded the collar back down, Phil looked down at her. “It’s _kind of_ weird,” he repeated, and could feel her exhale in exasperation.

“It’s not,” she repeated, looking at him critically before unbuttoning another button. “I can grab a different shirt,” she ‘offered,’ and Phil groaned.

“Daisy,” he began, and she shook her head, moving to his closet browse through his shirts. She pulled out a gray one he never wore. Wrinkling her nose, she hung it back up and resumed her search.

Phil wasn’t _trying_ to be difficult, but it was awkward. Sure, he and Daisy hadn’t exactly kept their relationship a secret since she’d returned, but they didn’t welcome everyone into their private lives either.

“Where’s the fun in that?” She asked, shooting him a charming smile. “Besides, I want to spend more time with Mack and Elena.” Her smile faded a bit as she focused back on the closet. “Things were kind of hectic when they got together.”

Phil nodded. That was an understatement. Things had just gotten messier and messier, and at one point he had wondered if they would ever truly be even bearable again.

And now Daisy had a drawer in his room.

And a _bit_ of closet space. (She didn’t mind him being stingy with it; she barely hung things up anyway.)

“Plus, it’ll be fun to be normal once in awhile, right?” She said, tossing him a light denim button down. “Less crazy?” Phil took one look at it before tossing it back.

 _‘Too casual,_ ’ was the stare he sent her. ‘ _T_ _ry again.’_

“I thought you liked crazy,” he asked, unbuttoning his ‘too fancy’ shirt and putting it on a hanger. That was part of the fun, wasn’t it? They both were restless people, and the rush of planning a mission or completing a successful one made the downtime at the base that much better. Daisy hardly seemed like the kind of person to crave normalcy, he thought.

But all things considered, it would make sense she’d want a little show of boring stability occasionally. Especially for someone who came from none.

Handing the rejected shirt to Daisy he watched her hang it up, then hold up another one for assessment. It was a dark blue, almost black. It would do. He nodded, and Daisy grinned in a way that basically clinched that he would do whatever she wanted. Resistance was futile, as long as she kept looking at him like that.

“Crazy is good,” she conceded, unbuttoning the shirt and gesturing for him to turn around. (Not before getting a good look, of course. He tried not to be smug about it.) Easing the sleeves over his arms and resting the shirt on his shoulders, Daisy sighed. “But, call me old fashioned, I would like a night of my biggest concern being what we’re all going to talk about, not me or my boyfriend’s alien blood, or my earthquake powers, or the world being completely divided on my existence.”

“So old fashioned,” Phil joked, as Daisy crossed around to the front to button up the shirt. He was perfectly capable of this part, but it was something they both enjoyed, so why not go with it? When she was about halfway done he leaned in, catching her lips with his. He could feel Daisy smiling before she pulled away and finished buttoning the shirt.

Stepping back as he tucked the shirt in, she eyed his appearance critically.

“What do I need to do to get you in a pair of jeans?” She asked, casting a disapproving eye on his slacks.

Phil raised an eyebrow.

“Smooth, Casanova.”

He shrugged innocently. “I didn’t say a thing.” Looking over at the clock, Phil tilted his head curiously. “When are we meeting them again?” It seemed early to be getting ready, unless she foresaw even more difficulty agreeing on an outfit.

“About 30 minutes,” Daisy said, sending him a challenging look.

“Well if you’re not a fan of the pants,” Phil began, unfastening his belt. Daisy locked the door.

***

“Can I start you off with some drinks?” The waitress asked, and Mack held up a hand.

“Yes,” he said immediately, naming one of the first draft beers he saw. From across the table, Daisy sent him a look.

It wasn’t _terrible_ so far, just more awkward than Mack had anticipated. _Just as awkward as I anticipated._ Mack was a fairly private person, and while he enjoyed spending time with his teammates, he had his limits. According to Coulson’s drink order, it sounded like he felt the same way.

They hadn’t exactly been lacking in quality time over the past year.

“Going hard tonight, AC?” Daisy asked, moving her judgmental stare to Coulson. She looked at the server. “In that case, I’ll have a _super_ dirty vodka martini.” When asked if she had a vodka preference, Daisy just said “surprise me,” and Coulson grimaced.

Once Elena had given her order, Coulson turned to Daisy. “You know when you say ‘surprise me’ they’re either going to give you the most expensive stuff they have or the well crap,” he said good naturedly.

“ _Well_ , not all of us have a brand _and_ year preference for our booze, fancypants,” she said back, smiling. Mack glanced over at Elena, who winked and linked their fingers together under the table. As long as she was enjoying herself, Mack supposed he could deal with a little awkwardness. Sure he and Coulson had gotten ‘close,’ but Mack still wasn’t sure he would categorize them as friends. They were partners and allies and shared the goal of bringing Daisy home and getting things to calm down with the government, but they also spent way too much time together and occasionally saw the worst of each other.

So no, the two of them were not going to pull a Lady and the Tramp over pasta that night.

“So Elena and I have been working on some practice drills for incoming Inhumans, things that could be useful for any sort of powers,” Daisy said, diving into an explanation about some way they were combining her powers with his to basically disassemble a car without making a peep. Mack perked up.

“Do I even want to know how you’ve been practicing that particular technique?” Coulson asked, sounding as wary as Mack felt. “Because it sounds expensive.”

Daisy’s eyes lit up as their server arrived, and they had to pause the conversation to order dinner.

After watching the waitress walk away, Daisy turned to Yo-Yo  and the two started talking a mile a minute about their latest session, switching between Spanish and English as needed. Mack tried to follow along, sipping his beer.

*** 

Of course, things were looking up when it all went to hell.

Elena was recounting a story of a time she had seen a man on the bus being a creep, so she had sneakily started removing things from his pockets until he realized his wallet, keys, sunglasses and phone had all mysteriously gone missing. Elena suggested he’d left everything at the last stop and, considering he had no other reasonable explanation, he demanded the driver stop so he could get off.

“What did you do with his stuff?” Daisy asked, and Elena shrugged.

“The money went in that girl’s purse, the rest in the garbage.” She took a sip of her beer, smiling over the rim.

Daisy laughed, the kind where she wrinkled her nose a little, and Mack shook his head fondly. Phil smiled, always enjoying some of the more creative uses for Elena’s powers. The awkwardness had finally faded (the drinks may have helped) when--

“ _Nobody move_!”

As three men in masks pointed guns at the frightened patrons, Phil wasn’t sure what bothered him more: the interruption or the cliche. Moving through the tables they began demanding the wallets and jewelry of everyone they could, lingering around a particularly well-dressed party for a bit.

Phil could feel Daisy tense up at his side. Catching a quick glimpse, he could see the look of steely readiness she always had before a mission. Tempered, of course, with amusement. She was going to be like a cat with a toy with these guys, and the idea of it made him damn near excited.

“Everyone stay put!” One of the assailants yelled out, and Phil had to refrain from rolling his eyes.

Were there any movies with _successful_ heists where guys did all this? He wondered briefly if he hadn’t managed to conceal his eye roll, because he saw one of the masked men turn his attention to their table.

“You,” he called, and Coulson pointed at himself innocently. Next to him Daisy sighed. The man came over to their table, sizing them all up before focusing his attention on Coulson, and his weapon on Mack. Mack rolled his eyes, and Daisy scowled. “Wallet,” the man said to Phil, repeating himself when he received no response. Phil looked over at Daisy, who was looking at Elena. She shrugged at Daisy, who shrugged _back,_ and Phil realized they were trying to take turns.

 _Either one would be fine about now,_ he thought, a bit peeved.  

“ _Wallet!_ ” The man at his shoulder demanded, jabbing him with the gun on the shoulder.

“I _think_ I’m going to pass,” Phil said, pretending to mull it over. This seemed to give their would-be assailant pause, during which time his gun completely fell apart. Across the restaurant, a second man let out a yell as his weapon mysteriously vanished from his hands. The third, hearing the commotion at their table turned and panicked, firing off a shot that Daisy was _just_ able to deflect from its path right into the back of Phil’s head. Across the room a vase shattered from the impact. The man who had been threatening them didn’t seem to understand what was happening but reached for a second weapon on his belt.

 _Finally,_ Phil thought, standing up and punching him squarely in the jaw.

What? They didn’t get to have _all_ the fun.

Mack took out his wallet, leaving some cash on the table as he stood. He raised an eyebrow. “I’m just gonna assume we’ll want to take care of these guys and get out of here?” The other two robbers, sufficiently frightened by Daisy flexing her Inhuman muscles a bit, raised their hands in defeat. Elena appeared to have not moved from her seat, but placed a large weapon and three IDs on the table. Coulson looked over at Mack, who gestured to the pile of bills. “Anyone else want to pitch in on this tip?”

Coulson took out his wallet.

***

“Sit on my lap!” Daisy called, as Coulson climbed into the back seat. Mack tried to roll his eyes, but felt a laugh burst out of him instead.

“Just hurry it up,” May muttered from the front, which got Coulson in gear. Next to Mack, who was inexplicably seated in the cramped middle, Elena snorted.

“Get up front,” Mack offered, still chuckling, but the car was already beginning to roll.

“Why can’t you get in Mack’s lap?” Coulson slurred, frowning at Daisy before hurriedly shutting the SUV door as May peeled out. Mack didn’t understand her rush; the bar they had been holed up in for the past couple hours -- _Oh no,_ he thought, realizing how bad it probably was-- was a good distance from the restaurant where they’d made a scene.

(' _Nd protected people,’_ Daisy had protested, practically leaning off of her bar stool.)

“Don’ even think about it,” Elena threatened, wrapping her fingers around Mack’s knee.

“Think I’m gonna steal your man, Agent _Rodriguez_?” Daisy asked, failing so miserably at attempting to roll her r’s that the three others started giggling mercilessly.

“Not like that you won’t,” Elena said between laughs, before leaning over and _loudly_ whispering something in Spanish in Mack’s ear. His grasp on the language had gotten fairly strong over the past year, but also there were some things that didn’t exactly need translating to get the point across. Which was good because he wasn't exactly in a comprehending state.

(Judging by the looks on Coulson's face--and Elena’s hand sliding up Mack’s leg-- it must have been something good.)

Hitting a particularly sharp turn, the drunk backseat occupants all got jostled, Coulson practically falling onto the floor if it weren’t for Daisy’s grip around his waist.

“May,” Coulson said, clearly trying to summon any semblance of authority. If he were not perched on his girlfriend’s lap, holding onto the seat in front of him for dear life, it almost could have been convincing.

“You didn’t need to ditch the car,” May said simply, but slowed down. Coulson’s mouth open and closed a couple times like a fish. Mr. Smooth Talker apparently wasn’t so smooth with innumerable glasses of whiskey and the wrath of Melinda May.

“My apologies, Agent May,” Elena said, sounding guilty. She had been the designated driver that night but then Daisy arrived with tequila and no one could say no to that woman when she was determined.

“It’s Daisy’s fault,” Phil said in a surprising act of betrayal.

“ _Wow,_ ” Daisy said, and Mack could see Coulson wince. “Well, you’re the one who said to call May.”

“You wanted to _Uber_ to our secret base!”

“Not directly to it!”

“Oh yeah, _adjacent to_ our secret base.” Coulson let out a little yelp as Daisy did something, and Mack could see her fingers pinching Coulson's side. 

“You people are strange,” Elena mumbled, leaning his head over onto Mack’s shoulder. “You’re all strange,” Yo-Yo continued, before tilting her face up to look at Mack. She was a little too close to get a good look, but as her lips coyly curled up on the sides Mack was seriously reconsidering his no PDA policy. “Not you,” Elena amended, patting Mack on the chest drunkenly. “I like you, Turtle Man.”

“Right back at you, Yo-Yo,” Mack muttered, his face heating up. He must be very drunk, he thought, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“Awwww,” a voice cooed to his right, and Mack rolled his eyes.

“Get out of my car,” May said as she pulled into the Playground. Her passengers all looked rightfully ashamed.

It was a weird night.


End file.
